Demon
A Demon, also called a Hostile Sub-Terrestrial, was a member of a class of supernatural lifeforms native to various Hell dimensions separated from Earth and generally considered to be evil due to their lack of human souls and their destructive tendencies. The term was widely used to describe any creature that was not a god, robot, unmodified human, or standard terrestrial animal. Though individual powers varied between different demon species, most, if not all, demon species possessed greater strength, endurance, and natural abilities than humans. History The original and most powerful demons originated eons ago. They were godlike extradimensional beings called the Old Ones. The Old Ones lived on Earth during the Primordium Age after they were brought there from their home dimensions by the Seed of Wonder. However, as time passed, new, mortal creatures began to appear on Earth and turn on and fight against the demons, and the Old Ones either retreated to other dimensions or interbred with humans, thus diminishing their powers through the generations. According to the Guardians, the last pure demon that walked the Earth during this period was killed by the Scythe. By modern times, demonic creatures native to Earth were not full demons but had a percentage of human heritage due to their ancestors' crossbreeding, while full demons were native to other dimensions. Characteristics 300px-Harvest_engraving.jpg|Maloker, father of all vampires 1X08IRYJ0121.jpg|Moloch the Corruptor 2X07LTM1323.jpg|Drusilla 2X10WML1471.jpg|Norman Pfister Gorch.png|Lyle and Tector Gorch Demon book killed by death.jpg 2X18KBD1559.jpg|Der Kindestod drawn by Ryan Der-Kindestod-.png|Der Kindestod 3X02DMP1145.jpg|Ovu Mobani 3X10AME1337.jpg|Harbingers of Death Buffy317_444.jpg|Richard Wilkins Piasca.jpg|Piasca Demon lonelyhearts.png|A demon wearing intestines around its head. 4X04FI2329.jpg|Gachnar 640px-Book_AnoMovic.jpg|Ano-Movic demon 1x08IWRY0915.jpg|Mohra demon 4X10HUSH1547.jpg|Gentlemen drawn by Olivia Gentlemens.jpg|Gentlemen drawn by Giles 4X11DOOM1317.jpg|Vahrall demon 1x12EXP1799.jpg|Haxil Beast Angel112-haxilpic.jpg|Haxil Beast 4X13TIIT1081.jpg|Polgara demon Tay.jpg|Tay, a Vigorie demon drawn by Angel Ethros.jpg|Ethros demon 1x15PROD0429.jpg|Kwaini demon 1x16RING0003.jpg Demonthering.jpg|Kailiff demon Demonthering2.jpg Demonthering3.jpg Demon_4.jpg|Brachen demon Demon_5.jpg Demon_6.jpg|Gnarl 2x01JUDGE0475.jpg|Kamal, drawn by Angel 2x01JUDGE0511.jpg|Prio Motu demon 2x05DB2025.jpg|Darla M._James_Menlo_and_Angel.png|M. James Menlo and Angel 6X04FLOO0853.jpg|M'Fashnik demon Angel313-book.jpg|Sorialus the Ravager 6X13DT2173.jpg|Rawsundi demon 3x14COUP0419.jpg|Sehni'D demon 3x16ST0371.jpg|Wraith-er demon Glarghk_Guhl_Kashmas'nik.jpg|Glarghk Guhl Kashmas'nik demon Sahjhan,_drawning_by_Angel.png|Sahjhan, drawn by Angel Quor.png|Unidentified Quor'Toth demon Creature.PNG|Unidentified tentacle demon 4x09LDJ0001.jpg|The Beast, drawn by Angel Cordy_drawning.jpg|The half-demon Cordelia Chase, possessed by Jasmine, drawn by Angel Illyriapic2.jpg|Illyria Kith'harn_Demon.jpg|Kith'harn Demon Kith'harn_Demon_2.jpg|Kith'harn Demon Cyvus_Vail.jpg|Cyvus Vail The only scientific categorization established for demons was provided by Maggie Walsh, the Head Scientist of the Initiative, who claimed that demons were ranked as a class in the taxonomic hierarchy."The I in Team" Anya Jenkins herself also claimed Sluggoth demons belonged to the same phylum as regular worms."Beneath You" Demons came in a variety of shapes and forms with hundreds of known species of demon with diverse traits. Most demons were commonly bipedal or humanoid, very likely due to generations of interbreeding with humans, along with reptilian, mammalian and insectiod features such as such as claws, rough skin, horns and sharp teeth. Most demons were sized roughly similar to humans (obviously barring the Old Ones, some have an immense size like Balthazar "Bad Girls" and the Haxil Beast "Expecting" or even be tiny like Gachnar"Fear, Itself". Other demons shared an appearance closer to non-human animals such as the spiders from the Box of Gavrok"Choices", Ghora demons,"Forever", Suvolte demons"As You Were", Sluks"The Price" and even more monstrous forms of existing animals like Lurconis, the Bug demons"Fredless", Grimslaw Demon"Selfless", Ragna Demon and Najakot Demon. Also, Kenny was a demon that resembled a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Others demons had vegetative features like the Root monster."Couplet" Certain species were totally extinct like Illyria's subjects,"Shells" Sluggoths demons and Ragna demons. However, in the case of the latter two, they were recreated with the magic by Anyanka or by using their DNA by Andrew Wells. Morality and behavior By nature, the majority of demons were innately evil, merciless and unsympathetic towards humans, animals and even some other demons. The reason for this seemed to stem from the lack of a soul which provided a sense of feeling culpable to one's wrong doings, evident by the fact that when humans became vampires they lost the ability to feel any type of general remorse. Confusing the issue was that most demons kill as a natural survival instinct while others commit evil acts for their own recreational enjoyment, or religious/cultural reasons. Winifred Burkle even claimed that the act of a cockroach demon planting its offspring into the cranium of a Durslar Beast was "all fine and Darwinian"."Fredless" For this demons were seen as purely evil creatures with death as the only case for dealing them. There are, however, some cases of morally sound demon species or individuals such Whistler, Lister demons, Jhiera, Kwaini demons, Val Trepkos, Mellish, Merl, Kamal, Codger demons, Yarbnie demons, Clem, Carlos, Ken, Rory, Eldre Koh and Lorne (who appreciated human culture despite being a member of a violent tribe of demons). It's also shown that a soulless demon can reform so much they form special bonds with humans, such as the vampire Spike who developed a strong love for Slayer, Buffy Summers leading him to fight for his soul back."Grave" Some demons however demonstrated an evolution in their behavior despite their species. Kamal was a violent demon who nonetheless became the protector of a woman who was fated to give birth to a savior. "Judgement" A species living in Quor'toth became pacifistic by observing the filial love between Holtz and Connor. Recently, the Old One Illyria demonstrated a growing faith in the humanity before her sacrifice with the Siphon. Certain humans like Stewart Burns were transformed into demons at a moment of their life and adopted demonic instincts and tendencies. Giles was transformed into Fyarl demon and the longer he stayed as one he began to give in to the desire of killing other people."A New Man" Some Vengeance demons seemed to believe their acts of murder, torture and extreme unpleasantness were justified by the lesser crimes of humans. For example, Anyanka was a misandrist and did evil deeds based on the wrong-doings of males "The Prom" while Halfrek focused on the neglect of children. They themselves preferred the term "Justice demons"."Older and Far Away" Though it should be noted that, in some cases, while Vengeance demons claim to be acting on the behalf of the person they granted vengeance wishes for, the person who made the wish would end up falling victim to the wish itself. For example, Cordelia Chase made a wish that created an alternate reality where she ended up dying. Anyanka, who granted the wish, showed no remorse in that fact. Additionally, Halfrek was willing to leave Dawn Summers trapped inside her house after wishing that her friends and family wouldn't leave her, literally trapping them inside the house. It's likely that they weren't truly interested in making justice, but merely making excuses for the pain they caused. Interestingly, Anya showed disapproval over the Trio for robbing a bank, believing she deserved to get compensated appropriately for a hard-days work of causing pain and mayhem."Doublemeat Palace" The Half-breeds and the Half-demons had a varying moral alignment. Although they are also considered worse than the human beings by supremacist demons such as The Scourge, some demonstrated that they were effectively malefic or corrupted by their demonic blood like Billy Blim, Mal Fraser, Pearl and Nash, while others had naturally human behavior such as Groosalugg and the Lister Clan or they simply rejected their demonic heritage as Beck or Doyle did. A demon's intelligence was also a factor amongst many species and breeds. A lot of demons such as Vampires, Vengeance Demons and various others possessed intelligence equal to humans while others like Hell Hounds (a variant of this species on Pylea is however tamable),"Over the Rainbow" Drokken Beasts and Werewolves during their lupine period were purely, mindlessly feral and could be manipulated as such. Reproduction Demons reproduced in diverse and complex ways. Some species, including vampires, Wraith-er Demons,"Sleep Tight" and Werewolves, reproduced by infecting humans and then inhabiting and using their bodies. Others, such as Haxil Beasts"Expecting" and Skilosh Demons,"Epiphany" infected humans in order to use their bodies to gestate their young. Some demon species reproduced via sexual intercourse. Some indeterminate number of these species, for instance Brachan and An-Movic Demons, were cross-fertile with humans. Some demon species reproduced via asexual methods, such as budding. Some other appeared to have been created or manufactured by some other entity (magic practitioner, Old One, Power), and do not reproduce on their own. Thaumogenesis would result in the accidental creation of a demon from a spell, often one of a great deal of power where the said demon acted as a way to balance the effects of the spell."Superstar""After Life" Non-sentient species like Ghora Demons, Bug Demons and Suvolte Demons have the particularity to spawn."Forever""Fredless""As You Were" Diet Most demons were carnivores, mostly preferring human flesh as the best food source. Some demons had diets to a specific substance, for example: vampires drank blood, Norman Pfister (in his maggot-form) devoured his victims completely within in a few minutes"What's My Line, Part One", Hell Hounds feed on the brains"The Prom", Lei-Ach Demons seemed to eat bone marrow"Family", the Wig Lady had a fixation for humans fed with the Doublemeat Medley, Sluks drank the water in human bodies"The Price", Gnarl ate human skin"Same Time, Same Place", Grimslaw Demon ate human hearts"Selfless", Strom Demons suck out the organs of their victims"Release", an unidentified species was seen eating human fingers"The Magic Bullet", Tezcatcatl devour the bloody heart of human heroes for to become invincible"The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco", the giant Ragna Demons capture and devore their victims in the manner of a real spider and various species were known to feed off human hearts. According to Willy, he was able to generate business by selling his demonic patrons fried chicken fingers. Certain demons have a preference marked for the virgin humans as the demon Machida"Reptile Boy", Yeska "Guise Will Be Guise" and Avilas "Help" or the human babies as with Lurconis"Band Candy", Groxlar Beasts "Just Rewards" and a eponymous species"That Old Gang of Mine". Other species feed on demon flesh. Lizard demons ate some of their young during hatching season"Judgement", Drokken Beast eat all prey any distinguish their nature"Belonging", Ano-Movic Clan had a tradition to eat the brains of the previous husband of their wives, even if he was a demon, to absorb the love of the previous husband and add to the love of the current husband-to-be, thereby strengthening the new match "Bachelor Party", Sebassis drank the blood of a slave of his species"Life of the Party""Not Fade Away" and Black Widower demon eat their sexual partner, even it is a demon like Pearl. Some demons practiced cooking considered illegal according to the human criteria. This is evident of restaurants held by Richard Straley or Torg"Showtime". For certain events like the preparations for a feuding demon clan negotiations, Wolfram & Hart employ a caterer specialized in the ethno-demonic cooking"Harm's Way". A specialty at Pylea is viper's milk"Over the Rainbow". Nahdrah demons had toast with triton's eye and insects as their own specialty and like monkey cheese"Provider". Yak urine was one of the options at a demon bar"Potential".Vinji and Sahrvin Clan consider Camel meat's a delicacy"Harm's Way". Demons like Clement"Life Serial" or Teeth"Tabula Rasa" appreciate eating kittens. However, Clem later abstained from eating kittens for health and, ostensibly, moral reasons. Charles Gunn mention that as C.E.O. and president of Wolfram & Hart, Angel had bankrupted a company that dumps raw demon waste into Santa Monica bay, implying their illegal cooking."The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco" Certain demons are herbivores like the Vigorie from Oden-Tal who eat a thick stew made from rotting plants and flowers, and they need to consume half their body weight a day."She" According to Anya herself a ex-demon, Polgara Demon had to eat about every two hours which was a factor in the low I.Q."Goodbye Iowa" Other demons possessed obscure and somewhat metaphysical needs for sustenance. The Judge needed to "burn" the humanity out of his victim."Surprise" Der Kindestod fed specifically on the life force of sick children, "Killed by Death", Gachnar fed on fear, "Fear,Itself"n Thesulac Demons required the presence of insecurity, "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" Shur-hod Demons"Heartthrob" and Root monster fed on the life force of humans and even others demons like Groosalugg, , Clem feed on emotions, Soul Eaters were known for feeding on human souls, "Calvary" Polo and the Smile Time puppets fed on the life force of children, "Smile Time", Lorophage demons fed on psychological traumas, the demon rock star Billy Rage fed on the fascination of his female groups, Hamelin Demon feed on family traumas from children, The Soul Glutton absorb human soul and magic radiation for to become an invicible giant, Najakot Demon fed on magical energy and the Incubus fed specifically on the life force from women. Powers and Abilities The individual powers that demons possessed varied from species to species, but some appeared to be common to most, if not all species: *'Superhuman Strength' — Most demons are noticeably physically stronger than humans, although the degree varied from species to species. (Vampires, Vengeance demons, Old Ones, Fyarl demon, Vyasa, Granok demons, Grappler demons, M'Fashnik demons etc.) *'Superhuman Durability' — Because many demons were native to very harsh environments, their bodies tended to be more resistant to blunt trauma and injuries than human bodies, some species even resistant to bullets. Some demons had armored bodies, although they were relatively vulnerable if a part or all of the armor was damaged or destroyed. (Haxil beasts, The Beast, Skip's species, Granok Demons, Turok-Han vampires, Spike's crew, Space-bug-zompire thing) *'Longetivity/Immortality' — A large amount of demon were shown to live longer than humans, and some of them were actually immortal, living for thousands of year without aging. (Vampires, Vengeance demons, Mok'tagar demon, Boone) *'Empathy' — The ability to sense or feel emotions. (some Vampires, The Judge, Vengeance demons, Empath demons, Deathwok Clan, Illyria) *'Telepathy' — The ability to read minds. (Telepath demons, Ethros demons, Deathwok Clan, Sadecki demons) *'Teleportation' — The ability to travel to another spot in space without having to transverse the distance between the two points. (Vengeance demons, D'Hoffryn, Mok'tagar demons, Granok demons, Stewart Burns, The Beast, Gnarol Demons) *'Telekinesis' — The ability to manipulate objects with the mind. (Eyghon, Vengeance demons, Balthazar, Ethros demons, Sadecki demons) *'Pyrokinesis' — The ability to manipulate and conjure fire with the mind. (The Judge, D'Hoffryn, Oden-Tal, Child of Words, Sweet, Local Boy) *'Cryokinesis' — The ability to manipulate cold temperatures to create ice and snow. (Eddie Hope) *'Paralysis Inducement' — The ability to render beings immobile or incapacitated. (Ovu Mobani, Fyarl Demons, Wig Lady, Gnarl) *'Possession' — The ability to take control of another being's body. (Eyghon, Ovu Mobani, Haxil beasts, Ethros demons, Child of Words, Sluks) *'Precognition ' — The ability to see future events. (Deathwok Clan, Asphyx demons) *'Photokinesis' — The ability to create and emit light. (Ovu Mabani, Shrouded Man, Cordelia Chase, Pearl and Nash). *'Hypnosis' — The ability to manipulate minds. (some Vampires, Ovu Mobani,Thrall demons, ) *'Voice Manipulation' — The ability to manipulate once's or other's voices. (Vengeance demons, Gachnar, Arney) *'Invisibility' — The ability to make oneself unable to be seen. (Der Kindestod, Vocah, Thesulac demons, Pockla demons) *'Shapeshifting' — The ability to alter one's appearance. (Marc, Vengeance demons, Doyle, Ano-Movic demons, Deevak, Wraith-er demons, Eater demons, Lissa, Thricewise) *'Reanimation' — The ability to raise the dead as zombies. (Ovu Mobani, Gachnar, Eyghon the Sleepwalker) *'Regeneration' — The ability to quickly heal from injuries and regrow lost body parts. (Vampires, Brotherhood of Seven, Vengeance demons, Mok'tagar demons, Mohra demons Deathwok Clan, Nahdrah demons, Jenoff, Strom demons) *'Levitation' — The ability to rise above the air and stay in suspension. (Mok'tagar demons, The Gentlemen, Thesulac demons, Pockla demons, Brain Man, Cordelia Chase) *'Flight' — The ability to go airborne and propel oneself through the air. (Lohesh, Illyria's killers, Burge, Flying Monkies, Demonic Jetliners) *'Razor-sharp fingernails' — The ability of having one's nails sharp enough to wound or shred flesh. (Vampires, Der Kindestod, Vahrall Demons, Gnarl, Turok-Han Vampires) Demon Summoning Certain demons could be beckoned, controlled and directed by specific methods. Tucker Wells trained a group of dangerous hellhounds to hunt prom goers by forcing them to watch prom-related movies."The Prom" This influenced his younger brother Andrew who could summon demons to attack Buffy by using certain musical instruments such as panpipes and a didgeridoo. These demons include Jaarvlen Flesh Eaters (which he claimed was hard to control)"Dead Things", Rwasundi Demons"Dead Things", Glarghk Guhl Kashmas'nik demons"Normal Again" and an unnamed species of demon. Angel command a giant spider Najakot Demon for to defeat Amy Madison. Halfrek implied that Grimslaw demons were possible to house train, though difficult. Others demons, although having a free mind, are completely moldable by an higher being. It is the case of Glory's minions or the Zealots with Jasmine. Some individual demons could be summoned, but not controlled through certain spells. Anyanka could be called via a spell that required her necklace"The Wish" while such worshiped figures such as Machida"Reptile Boy", Lurconis"Band Candy", "goddess" Yeska"Guise Will Be Guise" and Avilas"Help" could be brought upon for a ritual sacrifice and the Queller demons were only summoned to eliminate insane humans"Listening to Fear". Society Most demons possessing near human intelligence adapted to most of the fundamentals of modern human society. They had an underworld status and took part in human pastimes such as playing poker,"Life Serial" though kittens were considered a delicacy, as well as currency, among demons."Tabula Rasa" However, human money was still valued by mainstream demons"Enemies""Where the Wild Things Are"(an exception being an unidentified M'Fashnik demon who, despite belonging to a mercenary race, considered money to be nothing more than paper). Also, pure innocence, especially that of a human child, carried a high deal of street value in hell dimensions. According to Anya, massacres were treated as social events by demons, similar to parties in the human world where demons would require invitations and even use these events to form romantic/sexual relations with other demons."Showtime" Clothing Most demons sported clothing of the modern era, though some, such as D'Hoffryn, Mok'tagar Demons,Thesulac Demons, Glory's Minion's, Pockla Demons, Sahijan, Rwasundi Demons, the Fell Brethren and many more wore archaic robes. Feral demons (like Hellhounds, Polgara Demons, Queller, Drokken Beast and Bug Demons) didn't wear any clothes. During a social occasion, Anya wore entrails as if wearing a dress. She also claimed that burlap with blood larva was traditionally used as bridesmaids dresses in demonic wedding ceremonies where the grooms were forced to perform the rite of self-flagellation."Smashed Interactions between other Demons Despite the degree of modernization, a lot of demons still relied on tribalism. They preferred to stay in packs or clans consisting of members of their own species that practiced ancient rituals and traditions that often involved barbaric sacrifices to their respective deities. They often waged feuds with other clans, as seen with the Deathwok Clan and Sebassis' species"Life of the Party" or the Viniji and Sahrvin clans,"Harm's Way" along with bigoted views of humans and demon species closely related to them such as vampires, who were less socially tolerated and even rejected by others demons. For example, The Scourge considered them like the lowest of all the half-breeds,"Hero" while the Ano-Movic Clan ,"Bachelor Party" Vyasa"The Shroud of Rahmon" and the Hellions "Bargaining, Part One were either offended or bothered to associate with them. Additionally, the Scooby gang found it odd that a vampire and a demon of a totally different species were fighting alongside each other. Rupert Giles himself claimed that, as rule, demons lacked empathy towards other demon species and even viewed vampires as abominations. This was purely a result to Adam training demons to get over their tribal nature and work together for the common evil. Even though they tended to abandon ancient demonic values and still enjoyed a naturally malevolent status, they did follow some loose rules when socializing with other demons as Spike was briefly rejected by his demon brethren for killing other demons after receiving his chip."Goodbye Iowa" Integration into Human Society According to the site Demons, Demons, Demons, there is a dozen species indigenous to Los Angeles County alone."The Ring" Demons like Marc,"The Puppet Show" Norman Pfister,"What's My Line, Part One" Ken,"Anne" Vengeance demons,"Older and Far Away" Kathy Newman,"Living Conditions" Talamour,"Lonely Hearts", Ano-Movic Clan, Doc, the Wig Lady,"Doublemeat Palace" Wraith-er demons,"Sleep Tight" Lissa,"First Date" Helen Brucker"Power Play", Kenny, Billy Rage or Incubus knew perfectly well how to disguise and to imitate the customs of human society. Others demons were still motivated by outdated customs, such as the The Tribunal Kamal who held to medieval codes of honor."Judgment" Human sacrifice was something of strong religious significance to demons such as Carnyss Demons"Judgment" and Thrall demons. "Dear Boy" Other demons practiced human sacrifice even as a personal hobby or pastimes, such as in the case of Eli who dismembered virgins for fun during his free time."Harm's Way" The Ano-Movic Clan moderated their cult to live in the human society, tolerating even human beings in their family. However, they were still keen on continuing their culture's tradition of eating the brains of their bride-to-be's ex-husband (though only with his permission, which was given in the form him proving his blessing to the new union)."Bachelor Party" Certain demons were somewhat progressive, rejecting the ideas enforced by their species which they considered archaic and preferred to live among humans with whom they admired the freedom to make their own pursuits like Kathy Newman,"Living Conditions" Jhiera and the females of her species"She", Carlos, "Underneath" or Lorne."Over the Rainbow" However, it's not always the case. Rieff complained that his only contact with the human world was during Halloween."Hero" In the case of Nash and Pearl, they considered themselves an evolved form of demons and felt superiors to humanity and others demons alike. Interactions with Humans Mainstream demons tended to mix with demons of other species as well as tolerate some humans who could accommodate needs such as food from demon friendly bars, treatment from Korean bathhouses"Parting Gifts" and legal support from Wolfram & Hart. One the other hand, it was demons that serviced humans through their own special demonic talents such as Lorne's physic abilities, demon brothels which fueled certain men's fantasies"War Zone" and the demon Jenoff who granted humans their wish in exchange for their soul"Double or Nothing" . Some demons offered power and wealth in exchange for live, human sacrifices. However, certain demons like Skyler had replaced these old values by cash money. The predominately demon biker gang, the Hellions, seemed to have possessed some human members, despite rejecting vampires due to their inability to remain in the sun."Bargaining, Part One" Demons also seemed to have rather different views on beauty since the loose-skinned demon Clem found Buffy ugly because "her skin’s so tight I don’t know how you Spike look at her", Torg rejected Anya's offer of sex because he found her human appearance as unattractive despite once having a fling with her during her demon days and the inhabitants of Pylea found the half-demon Groosalugg's appearance to be monstrous and considered his human features as "defects" despite the Groosalugg being a physically attractive male by human standards,"Through the Looking Glass however, some demons have been shown to be attracted to humans like Moloch the Corruptor was attracted by Willow Rosenberg"I Robot, You Jane", a Chaos Demon, since a Fungus Demon flirt with Drusilla"Fool for Love""The Harsh Light of Day", Glory's Minions have called Glory's human counterpart Ben Wilkinson attractive "Checkpoint""Spiral", Krelvin who flirt with Carol Harris"Hell's Bells", Syd Frzylcka with Winifred Burkle"Double or Nothing", Clement who is in love for Harmony Kendall, Nash who propose to Sophronia and Lavinia Fairweather to becoming her brides and the demonic prostitute Lina who was willing to service the vampire Angel so long as he didn't change into his vampire face. The demonic princess Jhiera also demonstrated a significant sensual interest for the vampire and the Courtesan demon Morgan tried in vain to seduce Spike. ]] The Slayer posed a sense of fear among demons, especially vampires. Demons would use the Slayer as a Boogeyman figure to scare their children into behaving."Doomed" When Buffy led a group of powerless Potential Slayers into a demon bar for training, she claimed her presence was the only thing preventing the demons from attacking them. Ironically, some demons considered the human beings as monsters to them. When Halloween was celebrated in the premises of Wolfram & Hart, the demon Devlin dressed himself as a human being (using real human skin to that effect), aping them excessively to the point it irritated the human-loving Lorne."Life of the Party" Technology When it came to modern technology, the majority of demons remained inept with most advances that humans possessed. Though some demons, mainly vampires, made use of human inventions such as newspapers,"Becoming, Part One" televisions"Checkpoint" and electricity; though made very little use of modern weaponry and were usually limited to basic hand-to-hand combat and medieval weapons such as swords and axes. Additionally, it was unusual for a demon to use bladed tools for disembowelment as they already had teeth and claws powerful enough to do the job. On rare occasions, some demons made use of firearms. Examples of this behavior included Darla when fighting Buffy,"Angel" Griff when collecting a debt,"Rm w/a Vu" Lorne who killed Lindsey McDonald with a silenced pistol"Not Fade Away", M. James Menlo, proficient with firearms "The Shroud of Rahmon" and Razor, the leader of a demon biker gang who used a starting pistol when destroying the Buffybot."Bargaining, Part Two" The demon Toth was considered a sophisticated demon for his use of mystical tools, such as the Ferula Gemini."The Replacement" Demons like Ken and Kathy Newman even knew how to use convincing prosthetic makeup. Human Awareness of Demons For most of history, the majority of humans remained unaware or in denial of the existence of demons, with notable exceptions including the Watchers Council, the Initiative, the Slayers, the Scooby Gang, the Angel Investigations team, demon and vampire hunters like Sid, Charles Gunn, Daniel Holtz, Justine Cooper or Robin Wood. Since the public revelation of demons, all the police departments include a paranormal force division. Rupert Giles explained this as the tendency for people to "rationalize what they can and forget what they can't.""The Harvest" Aimee Mann, a guest singer at The Bronze, remarked that she hated playing in "vampire towns.""Sleeper" To those who did know, demonic culture and mythology was the subject of scholarly research with ancient books and texts documenting their history. Having had knowledge of his real nature, Harriet, the ex-wife of Doyle became ethnodemonologist and had even become engaged to a demon"Bachelor Party". A website titled "Demons, Demons, Demons" also contained accurate information on demons. "The Ring" The Sunnydale High School board and the police department also appeared to be aware of the supernatural goings-on in Sunnydale, as the police often covered up vampire and demon attacks under orders from Richard Wilkins. When Spike and members of the Order of Aurelius attacked Sunnydale High to kill Buffy Summers, Principal Snyder and the police chief wrote it off to the public as an attack by a gang on PCP, an excuse that has apparently been used before."School Hard" In Los Angeles, it seems common that businessmen without scruples, gangsters or criminals, without counting the lawyers of Wolfram & Hart, are associated with demons in more or less doubtful business "Parting Gifts" . All the people present in Los Angeles when it was moved to a hell dimension by the Senior Partners of Wolfram & Hart in 2004 became aware of demons. In the early 21st century, the existence of vampires, and demons by extension, became public knowledge and vampires instantly became the subject of a fad, capitalizing on the fact that many humans experience a thrill when bitten by vampires. Harmony Kendall became the face of vampires in the media, starring in a reality show called Harmony Bites. Since, all humans are aware of demons' existence on Earth. It was seen after the end of magic that demons were employed for various jobs like one, used by UC Sunnydale staff like debt collector to collectif Buffy's student loan. In London, Parker and Tricia were racketted by an human associate with two demons. Views of Demons Humanity's views of demons, like their views of one another, vary considerably depending on individuals: *Though the Scooby Gang and the Angel Investigations team were dedicated to destroying demons, they only sought to destroy those they saw as evil. Both teams employed the services of demons on several occasions and many key members of both groups had been demons. In fact, the demon members of Angel Investigations often outnumbered the humans. Both also argued that werewolves should not be held accountable for their actions in bestial form as long as they found ways of restraining themselves. Regardless, both sides were perfectly willing and able to kill demons for committing bad deeds; for example, when Anya granted a wish that resulted in the deaths of several fraternity boys, Buffy immediately decided that she had to kill Anya for it despite having peacefully talked Dark Willow down after she did the same thing, justifying her actions by stating that Willow was human and Anya wasn't, and that as the Slayer, her decisions and judgement were absolute. *Xander Harris has a deep hatred for all vampires, partly because of the death of his friend, Jesse McNally. *Willy the Snitch ran a neutral bar for all beings, including demons. *Gib Cain hunted werewolves for their skin, uncaring that they were humans outside of the full moon."Phases" *The Watchers Council refused to help Buffy Summers cure Angel of the Killer of the Dead poison on the grounds that he was a vampire, which resulted in her severing ties with the Council for over a year."Graduation Day, Part One" *On multiple occasions, the U.S. government and its different groups showed a desire to study supernatural beings and find a way to use their power for military purposes, the most prominent examples being the Initiative and the Demon Research Initiative, its World War II-era predecessor."Primeval""Why We Fight" *The Scourge sought to destroy all non-pure demons and humanity itself. *Cordelia Chase initially believed that all demons, besides Angel, were evil until she discovered Allen Francis Doyle's Brachen demon heritage."Hero" *One of the strains on the relationship between Buffy and Riley Finn was that he automatically assumed that all supernatural creatures were evil, harshly criticizing the Scoobies when he discovered that they had been harboring Spike,"Goodbye Iowa" though he realized that demons were capable of both good and evil just as humans were when he helped save a werewolf, Oz, from the Initiative, especially after he witnessed his superiors' inhumane treatment of Oz while he was in human form."New Moon Rising" *Certain human beings use demons as bodyguards. Others enslave them. *Madame Dorion and Madame Anita held brothels where the prostitutes are demons. *Mr. Maclay deceived both his late wife and his daughter Tara into believing that they were demons, allowing him greater control over them. *M. James Menlo was considered a human criminal by the police. Because he was a specialist in explosives, it is possible that the authorities perceived him as a deformed human being."The Shroud of Rahmon" *Gio, a rogue member of Gunn's Crew, led them on a fanatical crusade to destroy demons all over Los Angeles, regardless of their moral alignment. *Anthony Harris' bigoted attitude toward Anya's demonic guests incited a riot between the two families. However, he was not aware of what they were really, considering them circus artists or a certain religious confession. It is plausible to say that he was simply reactionary by nature to all which is different from his own point of view."Hell's Bells" *Clem claimed that Rack had "a thing" against his demon species. "Two to Go" *Tobias Dupree was a demon's rights activist List of Demons ''See Demon/Listed By Appearance '' Gallery See Also *Demon bar *Demon brothel *Half-demon *Old One Notes *In "Where the Wild Things Are", Giles specifically states that demons do not mix with members of other species as a rule. While true to an extent, this is contradicted by the many episodes where demons of different species are shown socializing peacefully (for example, "Life Serial" and "Double or Nothing"). It could be that, despite his large knowledge of demons, he may have not encountered demonic facilities like demon bars first hand, and that the Watcher's Council is perhaps misinformed about their interpretation of demonic society. *Demons had a tendency to use the term 'clan' to refer to their own species as a whole. This could be seen with the Miquot Clan, the Ano-Movic Clan, the Lister Clan, the Tothric Clan, the Deathwok Clan, the Vinji Clan, the Sahrvin Clan, the Grox'lar Clan and the Goran Clan. It's likely that most demon species would only consist of a small population each due to their long lifespans, exclusiveness to other demon species and their predatory nature in general, requiring them to remain in small numbers which may explain the use of the word 'clan'. *It's odd that the demons of Pylea characterize the Groosalugg's muscled arms as defects when demonic champions like Landok also possess a muscular physique. It's possible that due to demon's naturally possessing superhuman strength, it's only a rare occurrence in Pylea that a demon's muscles may develop as demons may generally not require extensive training to know how to fight or hunt. *In "Doublemeat Palace", Spike claims that demons like fluorescent lights because it makes their skins twitch. Category:Demons Category:Demon species Category:Terminology